Defeated 'Nine Conditions of Sin' and 'The Country of the End'! Netflix's Top 10 Strongest Japanese Dramas for the First Half of 2026 Announced, Champion Absorbs 9.5 Million Views, Worth Watching

Netflix announced its global viewing report for the first half of 2026, with multiple Japanese series achieving impressive cumulative results. Ranging from healing love stories to crime suspense and high-intensity survival games, the variety of themes was considerable. All three seasons of 'The Adventurers of the End Country' made the list, with the new work 'Hell Astrologer' topping the charts with 9.5 million views. Below, we have compiled the top 10 Japanese dramas with the highest viewership in the first half of the year, ranked according to the number of views reported by Netflix, with each season calculated separately. Viewer reviews are also compiled from actual comments on public platforms, with Japanese content translated into Chinese according to meaning. Netflix's Top 10 Strongest Japanese Dramas for the First Half of 2026: 10th Place - Kiritani Kenta, Han Hyojoo 'Romantic Anonymous' | View Count: 1.7 million 'Romantic Anonymous' is a healing romance drama set in a chocolate shop, depicting a genius chocolatier who cannot look people in the eye and a corporate heir who is afraid of touching others. These two people, each carrying psychological trauma, unexpectedly develop 'immunity' to each other. The plot combines workplace, sweets, and adult romantic relationships, with a light pace and a focus on how the characters slowly emerge from their closed hearts. Viewer comments mentioned 'Kiritani Kenta looks great in a suit', 'Han Hyojoo's acting is good', 'Overall it's warm and easy to get into', 'The chemistry between the two is very natural', and some thought 'The last episode was too packed'. Overall reviews focused on the actors' charisma and the gentle atmosphere, with the male and female leads' restrained interactions making this cross-border romance seem mature and cute; the rushed ending was a more common criticism. Netflix's Top 10 Strongest Japanese Dramas for the First Half of 2026: 10th Place - Kiritani Kenta, Han Hyojoo 'Romantic Anonymous' | View Count: 1.7 million (Image source: IMDb) Netflix's Top 10 Strongest Japanese Dramas for the First Half of 2026: 9th Place - Masaki Akihito, Tsuga Kei 'The Adventurers of the End Country' Season 2 | View Count: 2.2 million 'The Adventurers of the End Country' Season 2 continues the survival test of Yuuki and Usagi in another world. The two must challenge high-difficulty games represented by J, Q, K, and other top players, gradually approaching the truth of 'The End Country'. Compared to the first season, this season significantly increased the scale of action, with more complete episodes of city chases, gunfights, and psychological defense. It also deeply depicted the different choices of participants regarding the value of life. Viewers described Season 2 as 'full of action scenes that are so cool', 'the climax is so hot that it makes you cry', 'the scale is really big', 'every game makes you guess the outcome', but some also said 'the latter part is a bit of a letdown'. The second season's visual stimulation and character portrayal received many praises, especially the top player games that gave supporting actors more room to perform; some viewers thought the puzzle-solving and flashback scenes at the end slowed down the pace. Netflix's Top 10 Strongest Japanese Dramas for the First Half of 2026: 8th Place - Suzuki Ryōhei, Todoroki Eriko 'REBOOT' | View Count: 2.2 million 'REBOOT' is a suspense drama that combines face-swapping settings, identity mysteries, and family emotions. Suzuki Ryōhei plays a formerly gentle pastry chef whose wife is murdered. He is considered a suspect by the police and, to find the true culprit and clear his name, must change his appearance, abandon his original identity, and infiltrate a world full of lies and betrayal. Each episode reveals a layer of secrets, making 'Who is the person in front of you?' the biggest suspense of the entire drama. Viewers thought 'REBOOT' 'couldn't stop from the beginning', 'the rhythm of secret revelations is good', 'each episode ending is shocking', 'Suzuki Ryōhei and Todoroki Eriko's acting is too strong', and some viewers said some twists could be guessed in advance. Most reviews thought that although the drama uses a more dramatic setting, the actors' performance still supported the weight of the story, and the family line and love line also added emotional support points for the continuous twists. Netflix's Top 10 Strongest Japanese Dramas for the First Half of 2026: 7th Place - Aono Ryūhei, Toyokawa Etsushi 'The Ground Master' | View Count: 2.4 million 'The Ground Master' focuses on a Japanese real estate fraud group. Aono Ryūhei plays a negotiation expert in the ground master team, while Toyokawa Etsushi transforms into a calm yet elusive leader. This group forges landlord identities, documents, and transaction procedures, targeting premium land worth hundreds of billions of yen, setting a huge trap that can deceive large companies. The entire drama is filled with money, power, and human calculations, with a strong sense of realism in the criminal process. Viewer comments described 'It was too engaging', 'The pace is so fast that I finished it in one breath', 'The actors' pressure is strong', 'Thinking that there are really ground masters in reality is scary', and someone said 'The bloody scenes are a bit hard to take'. Viewers generally praised Toyokawa Etsushi's portrayal of a dangerous aura and how the team step by step pushed the company into a trap; some plots, although cruel, strengthened the image of these criminals with no bottom line. Netflix's Top 10 Strongest Japanese Dramas for the First Half of 2026: 7th Place - Aono Ryūhei, Toyokawa Etsushi 'The Ground Master' | View Count: 2.4 million (Image source: IMDb) Netflix's Top 10 Strongest Japanese Dramas for the First Half of 2026: 6th Place - Takeuchi Ryōma, Inoue Mao 'Farewell: Silent Truth' | View Count: 2.5 million 'Farewell: Silent Truth' is a romantic suspense drama that weaves together a criminal case, first love, and childhood secrets. Takeuchi Ryōma plays a detective who, while investigating a murder case, discovers that Inoue Mao, his former lover, has become a suspect. The weapon used in the case is also related to the secret that the two buried together 23 years ago. As old friends from their hometown reunite, everyone's testimony and memories develop cracks. Viewers said 'I only wanted to watch one episode, but ended up following through', 'Every episode suspects different people', 'The final twist was unexpected', 'It's painful to hide the truth to protect someone', and some thought 'Too many answers are revealed at the end'. Overall, the word of mouth affirmed the gloomy atmosphere created by the work. The love line and the case are intertwined, making the audience not only guess the murderer but also care about whether this group of people can get rid of the scars of many years ago. Netflix's Top 10 Strongest Japanese Dramas for the First Half of 2026: 5th Place - Masaki Akihito, Tsuga Kei 'The Adventurers of the End Country' Season 1 | View Count: 2.9 million 'The Adventurers of the End Country' Season 1 depicts Yuuki, who is addicted to games and has lost direction in life, who one day enters a deserted Tokyo with friends and is forced to participate in a series of deadly games. Participants must challenge intelligence, physical strength, teamwork, or psychological betrayal according to playing card suits, and those who fail will die immediately. The series, with its quickly established worldview and cruel rules, leads the audience into this city that is not easy to escape. Viewers thought 'The Adventurers of the End Country' 'is one of the best Japanese dramas', 'Masaki Akihito and Tsuga Kei are well chosen', 'The scale of the empty city is very shocking', 'The games are so tense that I keep watching', and some said 'The characters die too quickly, making it hard to get emotionally invested'. The first season was most praised for the sense of mystery at the beginning, with the audience and the characters equally unaware of the purpose of the games; some supporting roles had limited screen time, but also made death come more suddenly. Netflix's Top 10 Strongest Japanese Dramas for the First Half of 2026: 5th Place - Masaki Akihito, Tsuga Kei 'The Adventurers of the End Country' Season 1 | View Count: 2.9 million (Image source: IMDb) Netflix's Top 10 Strongest Japanese Dramas for the First Half of 2026: 4th Place - Masaki Akihito, Tsuga Kei 'The Adventurers of the End Country' Season 3 | View Count: 3.1 million 'The Adventurers of the End Country' Season 3 lets Yuuki and Usagi, who have returned to the real world, be drawn into a life-and-death game again. The story focuses on the mystery left by the Joker, exploring the boundary of death, memory, and whether people can choose their own lives again. The new season adds multiple team games with more complex rules and attempts to re-establish the reason for the characters to return to the End Country after the story has been completed in the previous two seasons. The reviews for this season show obvious differences. Some viewers thought 'The quality of the games is still not bad', 'It's entertaining to watch casually', 'The new characters are very charming', while another group said 'The reason for going back is not convincing', 'The endings of the first and second seasons are better'. Many series fans still like the puzzle-solving and elimination process, with criticism focused on the necessity of the sequel, the logic of some games, and the motivation for the male and female leads to get into trouble again. Netflix's Top 10 Strongest Japanese Dramas for the First Half of 2026: 3rd Place - Okada Jun'ichi, Fujisaki Yumia 'Samurai Life and Death Battle' | View Count: 5.2 million 'Samurai Life and Death Battle' is set in the Meiji era. Okada Jun'ichi plays a swordsman who has lost his samurai status and, to save his family and a village in trouble, participates in a death competition with a huge prize. Participants must seize the wooden cards held by each other, traveling through various parts of Japan. Samurai who once fought on the battlefield are also forced to adapt to more cruel survival rules in the new era. Viewer comments praised 'The action scenes are too strong', 'Finished six episodes in one go', 'It feels like a survival game version of a period drama', 'Each samurai is very memorable', and also reminded 'People who are afraid of blood may find it a bit hard'. Okada Jun'ichi's close combat and group battle scenes became the biggest highlight, and the background of samurai losing their foothold after the Meiji Restoration also made the reason for the characters to participate in the competition more tragic. Netflix's Top 10 Strongest Japanese Dramas for the First Half of 2026: 3rd Place - Okada Jun'ichi, Fujisaki Yumia 'Samurai Life and Death Battle' | View Count: 5.2 million (Image source: IMDb) Netflix's Top 10 Strongest Japanese Dramas for the First Half of 2026: 2nd Place - Ryūga Yūya, Matsumura Hokuto 'Nine Conditions of